In the industry field of consumer goods known as household appliances, it is very usual to employ pressure sensors, such as for household appliances as washing machines and dishwashers, etc. Through those sensors, it is possible e.g. to determine the volume of water inside the tub of a washing machine and others.
Currently, this kind of sensor consists of an encapsulated silicon chip, which is directly soldered to a base, i.e. over a printed circuit board, more specifically over the control board of the washing machine. An example of a pressure sensor of this kind is the model MP3V5004G, manufactured by the company Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. However, besides its electrical connection on the control board of the equipment, it is also required that the sensor surface of that chip is equally connected to the place which pressure we desire to measure. Said connection is usually made by means of a hose.
Although the current solution is effective regarding the capacity and viability of the measurements as effected, eventual interventions for maintenance and/or repair in said types of equipments have resulted potentially hazardous, due to the mechanical link between the control board of the equipment and the water reservoir.
So to solve said inconvenience, manufacturers have been using, among others, the technique to insert the control board in a mechanically resistant structure (e. g. a box with an open face), besides providing for indirect connection between the tub hose and the sensor. In other words, inside the support box for the control board, a pressure transference structure for the reservoir is formed/fixed, which structure is composed by two male connectors with fluid communication. Therefore, the hose coming from the reservoir is attached to one of the connectors and a second hose, linking the first hose to the sensor surface of the above-mentioned chip, is attached to the other connector. Thus, said transference structure works as mechanical isolation between the liquid reservoir and the pressure sensor.
Despite this solution having been shown effective in practice, it leads to an unnecessary increase in production costs, besides generating other problems.
Considering that said sensor is directly welded to the control board of the equipment, when said sensor has a malfunction, or even just a suspicion of wrong operation, it is necessary to remove and substitute the whole control board of the equipment. Vice versa, if the control board or just one of its elements has a malfunction, the current technique forces the substitution of the whole set (box, control board, transference structure, second hose, etc.), thus causing a waste of components and naturally bringing in a cost increase for the consumer owner of the equipment.